Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies

The Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies was created by an Act of the Scottish Parliament in Jun 1695. Under this act the Company was granted exclusive privilege of trade between Scotland and America, and perpetual monopoly of trade with Asia and Africa. It was authorised to arm and equip its ships as it saw fit, and was allowed to plant colonies in localities in Asia, Africa and America with no prior European settlement. In addition, the Company was exempt from all customs and duties for 21 years, with any damages incurred to be made good at public expense. By Jan 1696, the English side of the venture had collapsed, and the Company became a purely Scottish concern. Attempts to open a subscription book in Hamburg were defeated by Sir Paul Rycaut, the English Resident.

One of the leading figures in the creation of the Company of Scotland was William Paterson, a prosperous merchant with dreams of establishing a trading centre on the Isthmus of Darien, Panama. A secret plan evolved to establish a colony at Darien, despite the fact that it was a province of Spain, and the English crown would be sure to object to a move which could lead to war. The Company undertook two expeditions to Darien, shipping a total of 2,800 people and eleven ships there between Jul 1698 and Aug 1699. Due to a combination of factors, namely internal rivalries due to an unworkable system of government, land unsuitable for cultivation, insufficient supplies, English proclamations against the colony which prevented it trading, and Spanish military attacks, the colony was twice deserted by the Scots, for the second and final time on 12 Apr 1700. Most of the colonists died at Darien or on the return journey, with only the Caledonia returning to Scotland with a crew of fewer than 300.

The Company of Scotland limped on for a time, attempting to rebuild itself through trade with Africa, but several voyages ended in failure and the loss of ships. It was finally dissolved in May 1707 by Article Fifteen of the Treaty of Union of the two Kingdoms of Scotland and England.

From the guide to the Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies (Darien Company), MS 63, [1696]-1707, (Senate House Library, University of London)